Prosecutors begin playing undercover recordings in state rep's trial

State Rep. Derrick Smith has publicly denied all wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty to a two-count indictment charging bribery and extortion. He faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

Jason MeisnerTribune reporter

A month before the 2012 primary, state Rep. Derrick Smith was talking in his West Side political office with a trusted campaign worker about writing a letter of support for a day care in exchange for a $7,000 bribe, federal prosecutors allege.

The worker, who has been identified only as “Pete,” was needling Smith for dragging his feet on the deal even as the campaign struggled financially and employees were going unpaid, according to a secret recording of the meeting played Monday at Smith’s trial.

“Man, you better come on. You f---ing around,” said Pete, who unbeknownst to Smith was working undercover for the FBI.

When Smith asked Pete if he needed gas money, he replied, “I need more than that!”

Jurors listened to more than a dozen of the 120 phone calls and meetings recorded by Pete with Smith in the weeks leading up to the West Side legislator’s dramatic arrest on charges of bribery and extortion.

The conversations portrayed Smith, in office less than a year, as frazzled at times and possibly in over his head, spending long days knocking on doors and visiting churches and businesses to get his name out in a diverse district that runs from Lincoln Park to North Lawndale.

They also portrayed Smith’s worries over his campaign, which was being run by political operatives sent by two of the state’s top Democrats -- Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White and House Speaker Michael Madigan. In addition to a perceived cash crunch, Smith complained about his own campaign staff insisting on following him around as he worked the neighborhoods.

At one point, when Pete pushed him on the slow progress of getting the daycare scheme rolling, Smith sounded irritated.

“You know what I’m focusing on,” he said in the telephone call on Feb. 10, 2012. “It’s hard for me to move away from where I gotta be.”

According to the charges, the undercover informant, a felon who has been working on and off with the FBI for two decades, told agents that Smith started talking about needing help with fundraising almost as soon as he was appointed to fill a vacated House seat in 2011.

As part of a ruse, the FBI had the informant tell Smith that the owner of the day care center was willing to pay a $7,000 kickback in exchange for a letter of support for a $50,000 state grant that would allow the business to expand. The center, while real, was not actually applying for a grant, authorities said.

Jurors listened to a muffled recording of Smith and Pete touring the day care on West Chicago Avenue in January 2012. A few weeks later, in the conversation in his political office, Smith told Pete to have the day care owner draft the letter and he would put it on his official letterhead and sign it.

Smith told Pete, however, to make sure the owner knew that he couldn’t guarantee she would get the grant and that she might need letters from other politicians or neighborhood leaders as well. Then, in an apparent reference to the bribe money, Smith blurted out, “What are you telling her the cheddar is for?”

FBI Special Agent Bryan Butler testified Monday that soon after Smith was arrested, he admitted he’d “f---ed up” and told agents he needed to make some extra money so he could pay his campaign workers and maintain their loyalty. Smith told investigators he “felt like the whole West Side of Chicago was working against him” and he was looking for a way to win, Butler said.

Jurors also heard testimony about a $7,500 donation given to Smith’s campaign in early 2012 by representatives of a liquor store in Smith’s district.

According to court records, the store’s new owner told the FBI that someone connected to Smith had indicated the donation would grease the process of getting the liquor license transferred into his name.